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GRACE Rendering
GRACE Rendering
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Credit: NASA
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GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) continues the legacy of GRACE, tracking Earth’s water movement and surface mass changes across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surface and...
GRACE-FO Mission Brochure
While the two spacecraft of the GRACE-FO mission go through testing at the IABG facitilty in Germany, engineers deploy the S-Band antenna boom to ensure that it works.
Airbus Tests GRACE-FO Antenna Boom
Between 2002 and 2016, Antarctica shed approximately 125 gigatons of ice per year, causing global sea level to rise by 0.35 millimeters per year.
Antarctic Ice Loss 2002-2016
A 3D interactive model of NASA's GRACE-FO spacecraft.
GRACE-FO 3D Model
The signal of the December 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean in GRACE observations of Earth's gravity field.
GRACE Sees Earthquake in Indian Ocean
GRACE-FO mission logo
GRACE-FO Logo
This animation shows the annual water storage changes over the U.S. from GRACE from 2003 - 2013.
Annual Water Storage Changes over the U.S. from GRACE
GRACE-FO arriving at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, from Germany.
GRACE-FO Arrives at Vandenberg
A map of groundwater storage trends for Earth's 37 largest aquifers using GRACE data, showing depletion and replenishment in millimeters of water per year.
Map of Groundwater Storage Trends for Earth's 37 Largest Aquifers
The GRACE-FO satellites are nearly identical. The Microwave Interferometer (MWI) will measure the minute variations in distance between the spacecraft.
GRACE-FO Instruments
This map from September 2015 shows deep drought in California, Nevada and Texas.
Groundwater Drought Indicator
Depletion of groundwater in northwestern India between 2002 and 2008, measured by GRACE.
Groundwater Depletion in India, 2002-2008
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Antarctica.
GRACE-FO Above Antarctica
Illustration of GRACE-FO separating from Falcon 9 rocket after launch.
GRACE-FO Separating from Rocket After Launch
Many of today’s most pressing climate science challenges hinge on knowing how and where water is moving on Earth. GRACE-FO will continue the successful partnership between NASA and the German Resea...
GRACE-FO Launch Press Kit
Research based on GRACE observations indicates that between 2002 and 2016, Greenland shed approximately 280 gigatons of ice per year.
Greenland Ice Loss 2002-2016
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 4)
Illustration of GRACE-FO (View 4)
The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows one of the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 3).
GRACE-FO Satellites in Testing
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, May 22, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
GRACE-FO Launches, Ocean View
GRACE Follow-On will test a Laser Ranging Interferometer to measure intersatellite distance changes with unprecedented precision.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Alaska.
Illustration of GRACE-FO Above Alaska
Work begins to build NASA’s twin satellites, under construction by Airbus Defense and Space.
Build Commences on GRACE-FO Satellites
The Laser Ranging Interferometer instrument.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) is a satellite mission that launched in May 2018. GRACE-FO will continue the work of the GRACE satellite mission tracking Earth's water movement around the globe. These d...
Tracking Water from Space
The GRACE mission launched in 2002, changing our understanding of Earth.
15 Years of GRACE
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An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since.
NASA Satellites Reveal Abrupt Drop in Global Freshwater Levels
GRACE and GRACE-FO observations are now addressing the crucial need for sustainable groundwater management practices to ensure water resiliency amidst ongoing climate challenges in California.
Data in Action: GRACE and GRACE-FO are used by California's Department of Water Resources for Groundwater Management Information
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Continuity mission will extend a decades-long record of following shifting water masses using gravity measurements.
US, Germany Partnering on Mission to Track Earth's Water Movement
This immersive experience leverages satellite data to illustrate how climate change is impacting Earth’s water cycle.
Google's ‘A Passage of Water' Brings NASA's Water Data to Life
Early data shows the greatest net gain of water over the winter in nearly 22 years, but the state’s groundwater levels still suffer from the effects of years of drought.
US-German Satellites Show California Water Gains After Record Winter
Scientists have predicted that droughts and floods will become more frequent and severe as our planet warms and climate changes, but detecting this on regional and continental scales has proven difficult. Now a new NASA-led study confirms that major droughts and pluvials – periods of excessive precipitation and water storage on land – have indeed been occurring more often.
Warming Makes Droughts, Extreme Wet Events More Frequent, Intense